By Tag > business

Now, due to being asked so many personal questions by nosy neighbors, we know you all were waiting for the lesson on 'none of your business.' However, in addition to gossip, doing business in China is another great topic of conversation. Listen in to this podcast and learn to turn the conversation a...

Strangers going through your budget reports, investigating your cash flow? Questions about last month's revenue? It must be an audit! Not to worry - there's nothing to hide... or is there? Join us today to learn all about this common [often dreaded] workplace event....

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in China. Whether it's expats opening a company, or local Chinese doing the same, the waiting periods, the paperwork, and the registration with different departments can all be a huge headache! Join us at ChinesePod today as we explore some of the termino...

Being able to talk people into giving you money is a special skill. Especially when you're talking to professionals who say "no" for a living. In today's ChinesePod lesson, learn the key phrases and unorthodox "techniques" that will help you smooth talk any banker (or land you in jail). Soon you'll ...

We now join our Canadian businessman, Peter, as he goes on a tour of a local factory in China. Will he be faced with startling revelations of sweatshop conditions, child-labor violations and 20 hour workdays--leading to troublesome moral dilemmas? In this podcast, learn as Peter goes to the source a...

There's a vast market of billions of consumers in China, so companies are clamoring to get their products in the door. But are all products right for China? It may be wise to conduct a little market research before going all in on the Middle Kingdom. This lesson deals with a consumer survey regardin...

What does a formal job posting in Chinese sound like? You're about to find out! In this lesson, we cover the cliche phrases you're bound to run into, as well as some very useful vocabulary related to job searches in general....

In this Chinese lesson, ChinesePod marketing manager Kay rounds off her three-point localization list with point number three: localizing management. Did you know that managers in China have to worry about issues like mooncakes and hongbao? Learn about it here....

You didn't think that localization stopped at the product, did you? The interview series with real-life marketing manager Kay continues in this lesson, where localization of sales model is explored, using the familiar example of Dell....

If you order some noodles, and the person that delivers them to your office is a child, is it a case of child labor? Different cultures don't see this in quite the same way. In this lesson, learn more about the Chinese view on what constitutes "child labor."...

Today's upper-intermediate level lesson is essential for anyone trying to improve their ability to discuss marketing and advertising related issues in Chinese. Learn some great industry jargon, as well as the Chinese names of some of the biggest companies in these fields....

What goes on in a Chinese bath house? Maybe not all of it is fit for a family podcast, but in this lesson a husband insists that bath houses are rapidly becoming popular (and legitimate) places to make business deals. Listen in on the debate and learn some useful Mandarin Chinese....

So many companies dream of selling their products to China's billion consumers. But selling to China means localizing for China, and not just any product is going to sell. Listen in on the thoughts of a real marketing manager for some perspective on how it's done....

In this installment of our series, Canadian businessman Peter decides to lose the 'nice guy' image and get down and dirty in his negotiations with the Chinese factory. In this podcast, learn some Chinese-style business negotiation tactics. Listen and see if Peter has got what it takes to break free ...

Jenny demanded that we teach you how to say that you enjoy your work, but not your boss--due to his temper. While we’re busy looking further into this matter, we’ll go ahead and teach you how to "moan about the man." Listen in to this podcast and learn how to talk about your bad-tempered boss, in Ma...

Don't you hate it when you have millions of RMB (which you claim you won legally gambling in Macau), but don't have a way of discreetly "converting" that money into squeaky clean assets, seeing as how you're a high-level official in your home county, and your constituents kind of frown on that kind ...

Your company's brand-new kimchee-flavored chocolate has been painstakingly perfected and is ready to hit store shelves. There's just one problem: how are you going to get anyone to buy it? Tune in to today's lesson to hear how the marketing department is planning to introduce the new product to the ...

It can be difficult motivating a team. So what do you do when enthusiasm among your employees reaches an all-time low? Just fire the whole lot of them and start over? In this lesson, a wise HR manager tells us that there is another way. Listen in to this Chinese lesson to find out what it is....

When a high-level manager departs for greener pastures it's often difficult to find an able replacement. Today's dialogue features a debate between two high-level executives deciding how to fill a recently-vacated managerial position within the company: through making a new hire or an inner promotio...

In part three of this series, some serious research has been done on the motor home market in China. We're talking market share, we're talking core competitive advantages, we're talking high-end markets and low-end markets. Learn some of this very important marketing speak in this Chinese lesson....

So the consumer survey on the potential motorhome market in China has been conducted, and now it's time to present the results to the boss. This lesson, part 2 in an ongoing series, covers the key language for discussing marketing segments in a business setting....

Do you often travel on business in China? Here's a Mandarin lesson that will help you to explain where you're going and when you'll be back. In this class we'll explain some useful phrases to use when you're traveling on business.
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We revisit the office of Wang in this episode. Today, a new player arrives on the office scene. In this podcast, come along on an office tour and learn what all the departments are in Chinese. Along the way, get some office introductions and insights into the culture of a Chinese office, in Mandarin...

What do you do when you're thrust into an office environment with little English and a multitude of tasks to complete? ChinesePod offers a solution with today's lesson on the wild world of office duties like photocopying, printing and calling cabs for your superiors. Learn how to be a company supers...

It's been a rough week. The work piled up over the holiday last week and all your dutiful employees have been working long overtime hours. What's the best way, other than an expensive bonus, to show your immense appreciation for your subordinates who pour their blood, sweat and tears into your compa...

Going to Japan? You might be surprised how different the names of Japanese cities are in Japanese and Chinese (even though they're both written in Chinese characters). Learn how to say Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, while also covering basic itinerary language in this lesson.
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If you intend to claim something as an expense in China, you need an "official receipt" (AKA "fapiao"). So don't just fight over the bill -- make sure you get this government-issued scrap of paper to make it official. Learn the magic words in this Chinese lesson....

The Shanghai bar scene starts with happy hour, but you won’t get the invite if you can’t tell the crew what time you get off work…and you won’t be able to bow out of taking early morning baijiu shots unless you can moan about what time you have to go in the next day… All this can be solved if you li...

So, you’ve used our lessons to land the big contract (we’d like a cut), and all you have to do is meet at their office. Who knew your western GPS wouldn’t work in Asia?! What are you going to do now, G.G. Ross? Can we suggest a lesson on using Mandarin to find out where you are going? In the unlikel...

You've arrived, and want to fit in, so start with the national Chinese pastime: cell phone talking (well, it's better than taking up smoking). First, you're going to need a partner in conversation, so pull out one of those linty business cards you shoved in your pocket days ago, any one will do. If ...

You've camped out for U2 tickets, queued for boxing day sales... but the bank? Waiting outside the bank before it opens is a national pastime and community social event in China. So take your number (ah, so this is why they line up at the screech of dawn), take a seat and hunker down for your lesson...

You walk in, use your previously learned ChinesePod lessons to give the secretary your name and a quick “ni hao.” She does the same. What comes next? Most would think a reason for being there, but unless you thrive on those uncomfortable international moments (see: lesson on “Where is the Toilet Pap...

They’re handed out for any and every reason…but what do you say? “Thanks” might seem a little bland, but then again, “WOW! You’ve such fine taste in paper!” might be a bit over the top. So then what? Better find out--you’ll be doing it about 12 times a day. In this podcast, learn to do the ol’ card ...

They say that when going into business it's important to do it with people you trust. And who do you trust more than your friends? Of course, working with one's friends might not be the best idea. Hear the reasons why in this lesson as two friends discuss starting up an online education business. Al...

In the information age, advertisers have a hard time figuring out how to get people to know about their products. TV? Radio? Online? Print? What works? In this lesson, some Chinese advertisers discuss the different ways to sell their newest product....

Do you have business school in your sights? If so, you are most likely researching your options to determine which MBA program would be the best investment of time and money. One MBA candidate is doing just that in today's lesson!...

Learn about the escapades of China's big three internet giants in this ChinesePod lesson. It's full of a bit of jargon, but don't let that hold you back. All will be explained. Get the scoop on Dianping, O2Os, the BAT and more!...

Traffic, smog, rising labor costs - they're all reasons why many companies have left China recently, looking to relocate to the United States or elsewhere. In this lesson, two coworkers talk about how the company next door has set its sights on the US....

Being a supplier for a big factory can be extremely difficult. Caught between rising material costs and the factory's ever increasing demands for quality and efficiency, things can get difficult. In this lesson, a father/son team discuss how to solve their most recent problem any way that they can....

Welcome to the world of manufacturing, where suppliers, factory managers and designers are all locked in a heated battle to produce the best product for the lowest amount of money. In this lesson, a designer and a factory boss have it out over the declining quality of components from a supplier....

On the streets of China's major cities, it's not uncommon to see Italian sports cars, luxury handbags and expensive wristwatches. China is now full of customers with big time purchasing power, but how do you know who has got the cash to pay a who doesn't? In this next lesson on sales, our instructor...

Get your business suits on poddies, ChinesePod's discussion of internet marketing techniques continues with a discussion about email and search engine marketing. In this part, learn the Chinese equivalents of internet marketing buzzwords like “keyword”, “click-through rate” and more. To enhance your...

You can change it to RMB, but not back unless you have a form and oh, by the way… where’s your red book, visa, and passport? Wrong line – it’s that one, but take another number and wait here. No, there, sorry, we don’t do it at this branch… Exhausting to read? Try hearing it in Mandarin. Fortunately...